Forever A Rebellious Streak (currently going through a rewrite)
by HardyGal
Summary: The Decepticons have won the war. Those Autobot who have survived live under them as slaves and pets, breaking one by one. But for some, the rebellious streak never dies. (It's just a bit harder to see). HUMANIZED. ANGST. NO SLASH. [IMPORTANT A/N UPDATE]
1. The Scout and the Seeker

**A/N HardyGal: This is strongly based off a fic called Take it Easy by Alixier, in the Transformers movie section. It really made an impression on me in two ways or more. For one, it began my humanized obsession; I had not expected at all for it to be humanized, and the idea was new and fascinating for me. For another, it had such 'Bee angst, and for some reason I loved it. For another, it was one of the very first TF fanfictions I ever read. So yeah. The end result is what I guess you could call an Animated version of Take it Easy. I don't know if this is going to be a long one shot, or a series of 'slightly' depressing chapters, but it's angsty, it's humanized (why not?), and I'm gonna write it.**

**I don't own Transformers or Take it Easy, bla bla bla bla bla.**

* * *

_They can't tell me who to be,_

_'Cause I'm not what they see._

_And the world is still sleeping while I keep on dreaming for me._

_And their words are just whispers and lies that I'll never believe._

~I'm Still Here, John Rzeznik

* * *

"Will you just accept it already?"

"No!"

There was a struggle in the middle of streets of Cybertron, but no passers by stopped to help. It was a reasonably old sight to most. A couple pointed, and smirked. The few that followed the smirkers looked on sadly.

The teenager struggled against the taller, stronger man's grip, screaming 'No!' or 'I won't!' or 'You can't keep me!' or 'Let me go you slagging Decepticon!' There was a lot of swearing too.

Starscream grit his teeth frustratedly. It had been entertaining when Megatron had offered the young scout as his trophy, seeing the usually hyper, uncontainable Autobot reduced to the worthlessness that he really was. But it wasn't until the blond had shown his typical stubbornness against the humiliation and prospect of being a Decepticon pet, that Starscream remembered how annoying the youngling really was.

He had tried to run away… again. The child was fast, but not fast enough. Bumblebee had almost felt like breaking down and crying in front of everybody when the familiar hand had gripped the back of his hoodie… again.

Growling, the dark headed seeker backhanded the teen viciously, and threw him across the street. Bumblebee lay there, stunned for a moment, unable to move. The Decepticons skirted around him casually, and only glares from the 'Cons prevented any Autobots from reaching out to their young ally.

Starscream stalked over to his prize, grumbling, but was stopped in his tracks. A young man, of about twenty-six, moved the the teen into a sitting position, so his head resting on the man's shoulder. The man glared up at Starscream as he approached.

"Why-don't-you-pick-on-someone-your-own-size?-Though-maybe-that-is-too-much-to-ask-of-a-Decepticon-especially-you-You-would-be-the-type-to-beat-a-youngling-would-you?" He said all this very rapidly, but there was no mistaking that he was very angry. His tattered blue shirt and jeans, and the Autobot insignia burned into his hand were revealing enough. As was the mere fact that he was helping Bumblebee.

"Step away, Auto_bot_." The seeker spat out the last word like poison. "I ought to kill you right now for even looking at me like that! Unless, of course, you belong to someone," he added thoughtfully. Returning a runaway Autobot ought to be worth something.

"I-belong-to-no-one," the young man spat back.

Very dramatically, a shadow fell over the two dejected looking Autobots. "I would not say that, Agent Blurr," said a monotonous British accent.

For the first time, the resolve seemed to crumble from the former Elite agent, and he seemed to cringe. Shockwave seized him sharply by the arm, and pulled him to his feet. He turned his one eye to Starscream.

"Thank you for stalling him, Starscream," Shockwave said curtly. Blurr bowed his head. It seemed as though only his master's grip kept him from collapsing right there.

"Yes, of course," Starscream said self righteously. Without talking further, the former double-agent walked off, Blurr following, head bowed, one hand covering his eyes. In Starscream's opinion, it was the pathetic look of one who had finally broken.

Bumblebee had managed to get his wits about him, but a strong hand kept him to his knees, and another seized his hair and painfully jerked his head up, forcing him to watch the retreating pair.

"_Look_," the Decepticon SIC hissed. "_This_ is what you Autobots have been reduced to." He indicated the Decepticon insignias, seeming to cover everything; billboards, buildings, the clothes of the passers-by. "_This_ is what your world has been transformed into." With a vice hand, he gripped Bumblebee's right hand, on which the Autobot insignia was burned, still seemingly raw and red, drawing a cry of pain from the teen. "_This_ is what your precious Autobot symbol has been turned into: no more than the mark of a pathetic _pet_."

Bumblebee tried to jerk himself free, tried to block out the words, which hurt more than the blows he had received, or even the brand on his hand. He was used to harsh words, but this seemed to be the only time since Boot camp when they actually hurt like the Pit. Being helped by a seemingly resolute Blurr, only to have him crumble as soon as his… master had come. And always… trying in vain to escape, only to be dragged, quite literally, kicking and screaming and completely humiliated, back to horrible reality…

Starscream's words brought all this home to him.

"No," he said, a bit quieter, as if he were trying to convince himself. "Not a pet. Not now, not ever."

Starscream grinned, sensing the cracks in the wall. He pulled the blond teenager to his feet, holding the back of his neck in a deceptively gentle hold. "You just keep telling yourself that, pet," he murmured. "But why do you resist so much, child? I doubt your friends have caused as much trouble as you have."

Bumblebee's shoulders rose slightly as he tensed. It had been an agonizing thought for a long time, ever since that fateful day when Megatron had won, and that red hot iron had been pressed to his hand… Where were his friends? Where was his family?

"I have a reputation to keep," he replied simply, and waited for the inevitable blow for his trademark cheek.

But instead, Starscream chuckled, and ran a hand through his dirty blond hair, making 'Bee shudder. The sudden change was… unnerving. And that Sire-like gesture felt so foreign. It shook Bumblebee more than anything, and his resolute wall shook with him.

"That ninja-bot… I believe Lockdown has his hold on him," Starscream continued. "And your 'leader' Optimus Prime is under the great, glorious Megatron."

The former scout bowed his head. He'd thought as much. He hadn't a clue where Bulkhead or Ratchet were, and in his opinion it was probably best he didn't, but Prowl and Optimus were almost no-brainers. In a way, it was flattery to Optimus… one of the lowliest of the Primes, able to have annoyed Megatron enough to have been kept alive as an example. Also, Prowl…

Bumblebee had seen Prowl. He'd slagging sorta talked to Prowl, a long while ago, when Bumblebee was closer in personality to the guy he had prided himself to be.

* * *

He bumped through the crowd, moving quick and fast. Bumblebee was small, so that helped with the smaller spaces. He could hear the sound of wings cutting through the air, and he grit his denta. "No slagging way…" Diving into the crowd, ignoring the curses and bumps of the Decepticons around him, Bumblebee fought to keep out of sight of his currently airborne captor.

Finally, he ducked into an alley. Starscream flew straight by. Slagging 'Cons with their slagging superior upgrades… Of course, Bumblebee's stingers were gone, Starscream having removed the mods a long, long time ago. But that didn't matter as much as staying out of said seeker's clawed servos.

The blond teenager actually managed two hours of slinking freedom in the alleys of New Kaon. Occasionally he bumped into a cy-gar smoking Decepticon, or a huddled, unidentifiable Cybertronian, but Bumblebee kept his head down and senses alert. With this caution, it didn't take him long to start thinking about Prowl and how much he valued stealth and sense stuff.

But after two hours, things went horribly wrong. As he reached the more isolated outskirts of New Kaon, Bumblebee was just starting to wonder what he should do with his freedom when he bumped into a much taller form.

"Hey, watch where you're…! Slag." Bumblebee recognized the man in front of him, and there was a slow build up of panic in his chest.

"I'm feeling in a good mood tonight, kiddo," Lockdown said, examining his hook carelessly. "I'll give you a head start. Let's see if you're as fast as you think you are."

Before Bumblebee could react, Lockdown had him pinned to the ground, hook at the teen's neck. The bounty hunter smirked. "Guess not."

Bumblebee reacted in the way he would. He began shouting and swearing at the top of his vocals, struggling and fighting with all of his strength, which wasn't that much. A ship, Lockdown's ship, shimmered into visibility as it de-cloaked, and the main hatch opened. Though cuffed, that didn't stop Bumblebee from kicking at the bounty hunter furiously.

Then Starscream came before Lockdown could even get the kicking and screaming youngling onto his ship. This just encouraged even more kicking and screaming, which the two older mechs tried to ignore as they argued bounty or whatever. Then, it seemed like several things happened in quick succession.

Bumblebee took notice of a very familiar man standing at the top of the hatch ramp. The man was also cuffed, and probably looked as bad as Bumblebee, but that didn't seem to faze him. Instead, accompanied by wide, startled blue optics, came the incredulous word, "_Bumblebee_?"

Bumblebee gasped. "_Prowl_!"

* * *

That was the last time Bumblebee had seen Prowl. He couldn't remember much of that time, since his head had hit the ground at least three times, but he remembered screaming at Prowl to help him, and… not being helped.

Starscream's voice broke through his thoughts. "But, my pet, I did warn you that another escapade like this would result you being in solitary… indefinitely."

"No!" Bumblebee pulled himself free, and instead of bolting, turned to Starscream, seizing the seeker's jacket in a desperate hold. His blue eyes reflected a fear that no one would have expected in the teen. "Please, no!" The darkness. "I-I promise…!" The silence. "I won't…!" The_ isolation_. "I'll be good, I promise! I won't… I won't do anything! Just…"

He faltered, and leaned his forehead against Starscream's chest, still gripping the jacket. A few of the Autobots eyed the teen with a great sadness. Another 'Bot had broken.

Starscream looked down at the youngling in surprise. But of course he had seen the child after his solitary confinement punishments… He looked very subdued and was very subdued. Perhaps one too many had finally broken the rebellion that still thrived in the irritating scout.

"Come, pet," Starscream said firmly, but not snapping the words. He held the young Autobot's shoulder, and the two walked back towards their living quarters.

Bumblebee still kept a tight grip on Starscream's jacket, eyes still fixed on the ground, only the seeker's guiding hand preventing him from running into walls. Starscream lived on the top floor in one of the buildings. Actually, the entire floor belonged to him. He liked it up there. It made him feel so powerful to look down on Cybertron from up there. Also, he could jump off the and enjoy the feeling of falling, before activating his flight power and surveying Cybertron from an even more powerful view.

"Go clean yourself up, and meet me in the berth room," Starscream ordered curtly when they entered the apartment, and smirked when the youngling did so without question or remark.

After a quick shower, and putting on the fresh clothes Starscream had set out for him, Bumblebee looked at himself in the mirror. He seemed smaller than he had been (and that was saying a lot), and fresh bruises covered most of his arms, and even his neck. He could hardly be recognized as the same reckless teen who pulled ridiculous stunts and generally annoyed the slag out of everyone. 'Bee lowered his head, and walked towards his berth room.

Bumblebee slept - or sometimes slept, sleep wasn't that easy - at the foot of Starscream's bed. It beat the old cage that Bumblebee had been forced into when he had first been kept by Starscream, but there was something psychological about it. There were plenty of other rooms in the apartment, but Starscream made him sleep there. Like a pet.

Starscream was kicking back on his bed, playing with the umbrella on an energon cocktail, and staring out at a brightly lit Cybertron. When 'Bee came in, he hung back for a moment. Starscream, without turning his head, crooked a finger.

"Come closer."

The young Autobot obliged, standing at the edge of the bed, hands clasped behind his back, staring at the patterns in the quilt.

"You do not want to do solitary?"

Bumblebee looked up, frightened. "No… No, I don't."

Starscream turned an auburn eye on him. "You will not try to escape, or disobey me?"

"N-no. I promise."

"You promise, what?"

There was a slight moment's hesitation. "Master… Master, I promise. I promise, I won't do it again, master, just…" He sounded on the verge of panic.

Starscream put a finger to his pet's lips, silencing him. He smiled. He had won. Leaning towards the other side of the bed, to the side table drawer, the Decepticon pulled out a metal tag, attached to a collar, like a dog tag. Only it was a single tag. Swinging his legs off the bed, he eyed the trembling blond.

"Kneel," he said simply. Bumblebee obeyed, and felt the cold metal around his neck. It wasn't tight, but he wouldn't be able to take it off either.

An ownership tag.

Lifting his chin, Starscream examined his pet's face. A cut lip and bruise from the backhand he had received, and an expression of frightened submission. The seeker jerked his head at the foot of the bed.

"You may sleep."

Nodding, Bumblebee walked towards the foot of the bed. Starscream watched as he disappeared behind the it, and listened to the rustle of the quilt as his pet got comfortable. Normally he would be sleeping in a cage, or forced into solitary after his escapes. But not this won over teen.

And with that in mind, came the full knowledge that he was finally breaking his one rule: don't let them win over you.

Bumblebee buried his face into the pillow and drifted into a sleep of silent anguish.

Starscream got off his own bed, and spent the next few minutes looking out on Cybertron. He was smirking. He finally turned towards the small figure curled up in a quilt at the foot of his bed. The tag lay face upward on the pillow next to his face, fogging slightly as the child breathed.

_Property of Starscream._

Still smirking, Starscream stroked a finger gently on the teen's cheek in another false sire-like gesture. The pet whimpered, and shuddered. His master sighed, and left the room. He felt satisfied. At long last, those resolute walls were broken.

Somehow deep in his restless sleep, Bumblebee saw himself finally winning against Starscream. Never again was he going to lose to that slagging Decepticon. In real life, Bumblebee smiled as, in his dreams, he placed a foot triumphantly on top of the high voiced man.

The wall still stood. Neither Starscream, nor even Bumblebee knew this, but the wall still stood. A rebellious streak never to be broken.


	2. The Ninja and the Bounty Hunter

**A/N HardyGal: IMPORTANT! Reread the first chapter, I changed some stuff in it.**

**Wow. I wasn't expecting such enthusiasm about this fic. You four reviewers are epic, asking me to continue, and smokiesgirl even asking if she could use this AU. I'll get back to you on that. For now, I'm gonna create a series of these stories that focus on choice characters. Go ahead and give me some requests about this. And I might even create a whole story out of this!**

**By the way, I'll set a vague headcanon for this TFA human verse. Cybertron exists, and the people living on it are techno organic. They aren't typically born, they're made. They can do stuff out of science fiction, such as create clones, or reincarnate the dead (though that's risky). They don't really need oxygen to breathe, nor do their vehicles work quite the same as on earth. They age a lot slower than humans as well, and I haven't got scrap on how they're conceived (I really like to think that Sari's reveal on how humans multiply still shocked the slag outta humanized OP). This is basically Transformers Animated if-something-went-wrong humanized-ish. So the Autobots and Decepticons have been on earth. I am not about to figure out how the adventures worked out.**

* * *

_If you lose yourself,_

_Your courage soon will follow._

_So be strong tonight:_

_Remember who you are._

~Sound The Bugle, Bryan Adams

* * *

Most lived in the city, be they Autobot or Decepticon. With the exception of one Autobot and one Decepticon.

Prowl was breathing, very slow, very subtle, very quiet except for the low hum that vibrated from his voice box. He was sitting, cross-legged, on a thin mat, which was as cold as the metal floor it was set on. His eyes were closed, for two reasons. One, he was meditating. Two, if he opened his eyes, he would just be reintroduced to the horror that was his life. So, he just kept them closed, and sank into a quiet serenity that Prowl now valued more than ever.

The ninja made no indication that he was snapped out of his calm landscape as heavy footsteps passed in front of him, just a momentary halt in his humming. But other than that, he continued to now pretend to still be in a trance.

There was the clatter of metal on metal, the blings of the computer searching, and a low, tuneless humming, but not the hum of one meditating. More like the hum of one who is deviously searching, wondering, contemplating.

Suddenly, the devious hum stopped. "Will you shut up, I can't hear myself think! Primus, at least I'm doing something with my mind instead of hiding in it."

Prowl gripped his knees and grit his teeth, but he stopped humming. The ninja opened his eyes slowly. Lockdown seemed to be searching for a specific spark signature with the plasma computer, tapping his fingers on the console in an idle manner. Prowl slowly looked at the cage in the corner of the bridge. It lay open.

"Another one?" Prowl said blandly.

"Two," Lockdown replied automatically. "And these two'll be the motherlode." He suddenly spun around to stare at Prowl severely. "So no messing stuff up, or it's not going to end well for either you or them."

Prowl just stared back at him. "I'm waiting for an answer, kid, or do you wanna occupy the cage for the bounty?"

The ninja gripped his knees. "I will not… mess stuff up," Prowl said, still bland.

"Good kid." Lockdown turned back to the computer, not seeing Prowl grit his teeth visibly.

When Prowl had first known Lockdown, no matter how much he despised or disliked the bounty hunter, he had simply accepted the title of 'kid'. It was nothing important to protest over, though Prowl was pretty well beyond that title. Though, Lockdown was almost permitted to use that title, as was Ratchet; it was an older bot thing.

But now 'kid' was just derogatory and patronizing, almost a smack to the face. Also, it reminded Prowl of his… old team.

Prowl was not easily bonded. Every time he bonded, something bad happened. Betrayal, or death. So he had resisted any sort of bond with his team after Yoketron (and even that had been a slow get), not even accepting them as a simple alliance, determined to be his own bot. After all, he had been the most competent fighter. But… it didn't work. Subtly, slowly, Prowl formed a bond with… everyone.

Accepting Prime and his slightly confused leadership. Accepting Bulkhead for all his clumsiness. Accepting Ratchet even with his antisocial attitude (after all, that was Prowl as well). Accepting Bumblebee despite his very loud hyperactive attitude.

Prowl was very surprised to admit it, but the silence he craved more than ever was only second in his cravings list. What he found himself craving was all the noise of his ragtag, outcast of a team. It was the sound that meant that everything was safe, everything was as it should be.

Now, all there was was the gentle hum of the ship's generators, and the tuneless hum of his captor.

Then, suddenly, the slam of a hand on the console. Prowl was jerked from his thoughts, and quickly looked towards the computer. Lockdown stood straight, smirking at two distinct spark signatures, just on the outskirts of New Kaon, swiftly making their way towards the metal plains.

"Gotcha." Lockdown readied the ship, and took off. Prowl slowly stood up, walking over to the computer, where the spark signatures continued to run through the metal plains, in one straight line.

The ship was already parked on the outskirts of New Kaon, and all Lockdown had to do was drive the ship to the outskirts of the metal plains. Autobot runners often didn't quite have a plan as to what they were doing, and they were likely battered and not up to full strength. Easy prey for a bounty hunter like Lockdown.

As soon as the ship landed on solid ground, Lockdown collected a few choice mods, put on his protective armor - the bounty hunter wore as little armor as possible so as to have enough speed to pursue a bounty - before looking at Prowl. The one-servoed bounty hunter tapped his hook on his chin contemplatively.

"Are you gonna make yourself useful, or do you wanna stay?" asked Lockdown.

Prowl thought about it. Weeks he had been cooped up in this Primus forsaken ship, and he was craving the outdoors. It did not take much thought, and that was what made Prowl feel utterly pathetic. The ninja nodded slowly, reluctantly, drawing a cruel smirk to Lockdown's twisted features.

"Give me your wrist," Lockdown ordered the younger techo-organic. Prowl extended his arm, refusing to flinch as the gleaming prosthetic hooked about his elbow, the tip biting into his lean muscles, nor did he flinch as the heavy metal tracker/disabler locked about his bony wrist, weighing him down, not enough to impede him, but enough to let him know it was there.

"May I have my visor?" Prowl asked tentatively as his unwanted master turned away from him. Lockdown paused, glancing at his slave from the corner of his eye. "It has only a few scant settings such as thermal and ultraviolet, and… you know that my sight is improved with it."

Prowl glanced up at the armored man with wary, white spotted blue eyes. Though he could see well enough, Prowl was ultimately short-sighted, and, though he was loath to admit it, he did not want to fail Lockdown. To fail was to spark fury. Prowl could fight if that happened. Prowl was good, Prowl was fast, but… Lockdown always had the upper hand.

"Alright then," Lockdown decided, unlocking a cabinet and drawing out Prowl's visor. When Prowl reached for it, Lockdown frowned, eyes glinting dangerously. Prowl subsided, lifting his face to allow the bounty hunter to clip the visor to the optical integration ports on Prowl's temples.

Prowl blinked, and he almost smiled as his optics received the lenses like old friends. Lockdown smirked, opening the main doors. "Let's go bounty hunting."

* * *

Once they had stepped out onto the plains, Lockdown signaled his ship to cloak. Prowl watched it shimmer out of sight, though the thermal settings on his visor saw the bounty hunter's ship easily.

"How far out?" Prowl asked, wincing inwardly at his flat question, as though he and Lockdown were actually a team. No, Prowl would never team up with Lockdown. He preferred to not remember 'that one time'.

"Two hundred meters north," Lockdown replied, jerking his head in that direction, falling into a cold hunter's persona. But Prowl could see the glint of glee that hunting brought in the armored mech's eye. "Pincer movement, I'll take north east." Prowl found himself nodding. Something was pressed into his hand, causing the ninja to start.

Lockdown smirked at him. Prowl held up the object, which turned out to be one of his golden shurikens, though the blades were dulled, and at best could bruise or knock someone out. The bounty hunter's smirk was tainted further with a deadly air. "Don't even think about using that on me," Lockdown advised. "Subdue one subject, I'll take the other."

Prowl nodded slowly, before sending a signal to his visor to lay out a 3D simulation of sorts over his vision, every energon tree dotting the semi transparent due to the overlay, and two hundred meters out, glowing red in the thermal, two spark signatures, hidden behind a tree.

"We're doing this on foot, less noise," Lockdown growled. But before Prowl began to step to the north west, that hook seized his wrist, clanking against the weighty tracker. "Remember, no funny business, get this done or it'll be you takin' their place in the cage." Prowl's eyes shut behind the blue half transparent visor, and he nodded once stiffly. The hook was removed from his person. "Then get moving, kid."

Prowl was a ninja. Stealth and silence were his forté. And now he was racing across the plains, steps quiet as a whisper as he headed for the heat signatures. The proximity display on his visor showed that he was less then twenty meters from the subjects, and Lockdown was crouched behind a tree seventeen meters to Prowl's right. Though he really didn't want to, Prowl looked over at the bounty hunter for orders. Catching Prowl's head movement, Lockdown nodded once and jabbed two fingers toward the subjects. How the black, white and green clad techno-organic knew earth military gestures was beyond Prowl, but he obeyed.

Then Prowl was perched on the limb of the energon tree behind the subjects (how the dispassionate and impersonal term pained him when he used it, but it helped him sleep at night). He flicked the blunted shuriken from his belt, as a couple glyphs popped up on his visor. Wait, observe. Did Lockdown know who they were? Did he want to relish in the thrill of holding their lives in his hands, their freedom?

"But brother, ve cannot consume of the tree!" Everything in Prowl stalled at those words, that voice, that accent. His spark froze, his limbs stiffened, his knuckles whitened about the shuriken.

Sentinel's mechs. Sentinel's boys. Two greatly enthusiastic, trusting and impulsively quick techo-organics with Decepticon upgrades, who were probably the most Autobot a person could get. The Jet Twins, Jetfire and Jetstorm. Prowl had almost forgotten about them, after all, they had never been a full part in his team. A temporary and very loud part maybe, but not imprinted enough that Prowl thought about them everyday. But that didn't stop the horror growing in his spark.

These weren't just any Autobot escapees, he knew these bots. These two painfully young and spirited teenagers that reminded him so strongly of Bumblebee… Oh, Primus, Bumblebee.

"But ve has to, brother!" Jetstorm's horrifyingly familiar voice. "Do not you worry, it vill be back in grow! Do not you remember vhat Mister Prowl said? 'Nature bes a gift, but ve cannot be taking advantage of it!' Zat be meaning ve can take vhat ve need, just not too much! Ve be needing energon, brother, if ve be running for a long vhile."

They were quoting him. Oh, how it made his spark ache unbearably. Then the glyph glowed over his vision, and he could almost read the sadistic glee with which Lockdown sent it. Now.

Almost against his own will Prowl's body moved, acting on a long forced in instinct, leaping from the tree and in front of the Jet Twi-the subjects. Jetfire cried out in surprise, and Jetstorm leapt to his feet with a shout.

"Mister Prowl, sir! You be escaped!" Then Lockdown pounced on the blue teen, and with great reluctance Prowl attacked the orange one.

Everything in Prowl ached at the bewilderment and betrayal that clouded Jetfire's eyes as Prowl all too easily pinned his arms behind him. "But Mister Prowl! You-" The gentler twin's words were broken by a shout of anger and indignation from his brother.

"No! No you not be taking us! No!"

Lockdown shot Prowl a dark smirk over the struggling boy's blue head, the young Autobot's visor unhooking from its slots and falling to the ground as he fought with everything he had, which was not much: the two teens were clearly sleep deprived, and the wrists that Prowl held could almost be thinner then his own.

Then, Jetstorm twisted in Lockdown's grasp and a quick wind blast knocked the bounty hunter backwards. Slag, Prowl had forgotten about the twins' elemental powers. In any case, this worked to the twin's advantage. As soon as he was free, Jetstorm turned and tackled Prowl and Jetfire. For a moment Jetstorm, Jetfire and Prowl were in a tangled mass, before Jetfire wriggled his way out of the fight.

"Run, brother!" Jetstorm cried. Jetfire did as he was told, turning tail and running. Just once, he looked back. When he saw that Jetstorm had managed to get to his feet and was just starting to run, Jetfire activated his wings and took off.

Prowl blinked behind his visor, struggling to his hands and knees. He had to admit, together the young seekers were a very formidable fighting force. Then he saw Jetstorm's visor on the ground in front of him, and he picked it up, just when Lockdown ran up alongside him.

"No you don't," Lockdown growled. Quickly replacing his hook with another mod, Lockdown aimed and fired.

Having seen his brother take off, Jetstorm also made to fly away. But as soon as he took to the air, Lockdown's shot hit its target, and the youngling crashed to the ground, tangled in a net. Smirking, Lockdown ran to collect his captured prey.

More or less regaining his composure, Prowl got to his feet and pursued the bounty hunter. He caught up to him when Lockdown bent down to pick up the downed seeker.

Jetstorm clawed at the net. He tried shooting wind at the two men, but his panic did not improve his strength or aim. "No! No, no, no!" As Lockdown picked him up, Jetstorm aimed his shouts elsewhere. "Fly, brother! Fly!"

"Shut up, kid," Lockdown muttered. A very familiar EMP generator popped out from his arm, and a concentrated beam was shot directly into Jetstorm's neck. The youngling's cries cut off abruptly, and his head rested limply on Lockdown's shoulder.

"That's better." Smirking, Lockdown set Jetstorm on the ground with a false gentleness. At first he was silent, as was Prowl.

The ninja just looked at the ground sadly. He felt like a traitor to all Autobots. He felt defiled. And he had almost forgotten that Jetfire was still escaped, when Lockdown spoke up.

"You notice something, Prowl?" asked the bounty hunter.

Prowl looked up. He almost didn't reply. But, there was no point in not replying. "Jetfire is gone," he said stonily. Indeed, the metal plains and night skies seemed devoid of any life. But Prowl knew that Jetfire was still there. He could sense it.

"Right." Lockdown nodded, still crouched beside the unconscious Jetstorm. "And any seeker in their state wouldn't disappear that fast. The orange one his hiding somewhere, and he knows that we have his blue friend here. And he's not leaving without him." Lockdown got to his feet. Creating a half-funnel with his hand, Lockdown called out, "We have your brother, kid! And you know we ain't gonna let him go! So why don't you just surrender quietly and no one'll get hurt?"

Prowl heard a stir. He didn't need his visor to scan the surrounding area. "Where is he?" muttered Lockdown.

"Behind that energon tree," Prowl said, indicating towards a lone tree towards the northeast.

The EMP generator popped out of Lockdown's arm again. He knelt beside Jetstorm. Replacing his hook, Lockdown held the unorthodox servo replacement to Jetstorm's neck. Prowl knew that Lockdown wouldn't kill bounty, otherwise it would likely not be worth anything. But Jetfire didn't know. And Prowl found himself desperately hoping that the orange seeker wouldn't give himself up.

"Are you sure you wanna know what your brother looks like without a head?" Lockdown called. "Because you will, unless you give yourself up!" There was another stir. "C'mon, kid," Lockdown said slyly. "Let me see those pretty wings of yours, or else you'll see his head rolling."

Suddenly, Jetfire burst out from behind the tree, hands ablaze. He threw two swift fireballs before the EMP blast struck him in the chest, and he collapsed, yellow eyes shut. The fireballs struck the ground nearby the bounty hunter, hurting no one.

"Elemental mods on flying Autobots." Lockdown chuckled, turning his attention to cuffing Jetstorm. "Who woulda thought, right?" Prowl made no reply as Lockdown picked up Jetstorm, tossing the teenager over his shoulder. "Bring them to the ship, Mister Prowl," he said, mockingly imitating the young techno-organics' accents. He tossed a pair of cuffs to the mute ninja.

As Prowl cuffed Jetfire, he felt as though he should say something to the unconscious teen, deliver some excuse. But there wasn't one. So instead he just whispered, "I'm sorry."

* * *

When Prowl wasn't dwelling on guilt or on his team, he dwelt on that EMP generator. There was no doubt to whom that EMP had belonged to. The fate of Optimus Prime was obvious, and Prowl had seen for himself what had happened to Bumblebee. But Bulkhead and Ratchet were mysteries to him. It occurred to him that as medics were in very short supply, especially since most Decepticons weren't that interested in that area of expertise, Ratchet had to be alive. As for Bulkhead… Prowl just didn't know.

Prowl then found himself wondering what fate was waiting for the Jet Twins. He knew what Lockdown would want from them, but after that Prowl knew nothing. Nothing about the person who had told Lockdown to hunt down the Jets.

Lockdown unceremoniously dumped Jetstorm into the cage. Prowl didn't flinch at the sound of flesh hitting the ground, nor did he speak when Lockdown took Jetfire from him.

"You did good, kid," said Lockdown, bringing Jetfire to the trophy room. "Keep an eye on Blue. And remember, no messing stuff up." He disappeared into the room.

Prowl stared after him. _"You did good."_ With a grunt of anger and frustration, Prowl punched his fist into one of the cage bars, bending it slightly. Sighing, Prowl sank to the ground. _"You did good."_ Yoketron used to say that to him, occasionally Ratchet. It was something an elder said to the younger generation, and it sounded horrid coming from Lockdown's lips. Especially since what he'd done good was aid in the incapacitation and capture of an ally.

Prowl felt the ship jolt and shudder as it lifted into the air, and seemed to set a cruising speed through the outer mesosphere toward the nearest main city. Prowl could tell that the twins had probably been on the waiting line for ownership, imprisoned and completely ignored, for no Decepticon with their servos on an Autobot would let them keep their arsenal. With this in mind, Prowl guessed that Megatron had probably had his clawed hands on the twins (along with innumerable other people as yet unowned), before they escaped.

The Jet Twins would be sold to either the highest bidder or whomever Megatron deigned worthy of twin fliers. Quite exotic, Autobot fliers, and the few that had existed were snatched up quite quickly. Their elemental mods might have bought a few hundred more credits, but Lockdown would be taking those.

Brows down, Prowl tried to remember who belonged to who now. Jazz was with Soundwave, that much he knew. There were several tales of the Decepticon's 'dancing slave', for it seemed that Jazz had made the best of his situation and made a name for himself dancing for credits for his master. Blurr was Shockwave's, the mono-opticed mech was hell bent on breaking the speedster. Red Alert belonged to Swindle, and Prowl almost shuddered to think what he was putting her through. Optimus Prime was undoubtedly under Megatron's pede. And Bumblebee… He was under Starscream; Prowl had found that out the hard way.

There were more, so many more, but he simply could not remember. There were too many.

Then, a low groan drew Prowl's attention to the youngling in the cage. Jetstorm stirred and the blue optics landed on Prowl. Then, remembrance. The blue clad teenager struggled frantically against the net and cuffs, a raw panic in his eyes and movements.

"Jetstorm, calm yourself," Prowl said sharply, for just a moment the bot he had been, using the same tone he used on the Dinobots when they rampaged. After snapping the Autobot out of his panicked struggle, he then calmed his words as the target of them calmed. "Yes, that's it. Stay calm."

Slowly, Jetstorm fell limp, but his eyes stayed on Prowl. "Mister Prowl, sir," he whispered. "Please be helping."

This nearly smacked Prowl in the face. He had accosted two fellow Autobots, and here was one of them, asking no questions as to why he would slagging do that, but just asking for help.

Prowl didn't reply. He just couldn't say yes, but he couldn't say no either.

"Please, please, sir," Jetstorm said, still whispering, another note of desperation in his vocals. "Please be helping me and brother."

The ninja stood up. He couldn't stay here. He couldn't listen to this boy's pleads and know that he couldn't answer them.

"Please, Mister Prowl, sir," Jetstorm begged, looking up at Prowl with wide blue optics. "You can be coming vith us, and the bounty scum vill not anymore be hurting you."

The desperate offer just hurt Prowl all the more and he closed his eyes, turning and starting to walk away.

"Vhy are you not be helping?" Jetstorm cried, his vocal starting to crack. "Please…"

Prowl stopped in his tracks. Slaggit, he was being pulled into Lockdown's utter control. This had to be the first time he refused to help a captive escape, even if none of the past escapes were successful. There was only one other time Prowl remembered not helping, one time that filled him with unbearably painful guilt.

Bumblebee.

His old teammate had taken one look at him and instantly gave all his trust to him, begging Prowl to help him, much like Jetstorm was doing now. Though, Bumblebee had been shouting rather than whispering, and his speech was better. And Prowl… He rejected that trust. Just watching Bumblebee fight, and doing nothing too help.

But there was one thing that Bumblebee shouted that stuck out to Prowl, even now. _"Don't let him win over you, Prowl! Please, don't let him!"_

"I won't." It barely registered to Prowl that he had just spoken aloud. What registered was that he had drawn one of his shurikens, and with a heavily forceful blow cut open the cage. He was soon crouching beside Jetstorm, cutting away the net.

"Mister Prowl…" Jetstorm sounded confused and shocked.

"I've already let Lockdown win over me once in this matter," Prowl said in a low voice. He used a stiff chop to break the cuffs. "Never again." It was like he was in a haze, and he grasped Jetstorm's wrist, pulling the shorter mech along behind him as he headed for the escape pods.

There were two, one if a prisoner escaped and another for Lockdown if said prisoner had set the ship to self destruct. Prowl had never understood why Lockdown had two until he'd attempted to do that very thing. Needless to say, it was not successful. He hadn't tried to escape after that beating.

"But Mister Prowl, my brother!" Though hushed, Jetstorm's voice was defiant. Prowl's spark pulsed with agony as he realized the choices set before him. By the Allspark, why could he never fully fix something? No, it was always half finished, with the rest out of reach. But I will do so, Prowl thought, choosing what he had to, better save one then none.

"We can't go for Jetfire," Prowl replied, his voice low and void of the pain hacking at his spark. Jetstorm's eyes widened, confusion and bewilderment in that oh, so innocent gaze. No, not innocent, never innocent. He knew the world all too well, having been a flier on Sentinel's team. No, naïve was what he was.

"But ve has to!" Jetstorm exclaimed, tone low but his words blared in Prowl's guilty ears. "Brother needs me!"

"I cannot save you both," Prowl whispered, as they drew up to the escape pods. Jetstorm dug his heels into the floor, the previously compliant arm in his hand struggling to pull from his grip, but Prowl had been fueled, however insufficiently, while Jetstorm had not for a few orns at least. All the same, Jetstorm seemed short of kicking and screaming.

"Ugh, fine," Prowl groaned. "Get into the pod. Now. I'll get your brother. Here." He gave Jetstorm his visor, and after making sure that Jetstorm was well hidden inside the escape pod, Prowl quickly went back the way they had come.

Just when he got to the trophy room, Prowl had to dodge back into the shadows when Lockdown came out, carrying a semiconscious Jetfire. The youngling seemed to be just coming out of the effects of the EMP, and Prowl saw the holes in his wrist, leaking energon, indicating the removal of his fire mods.

It had been a long time since Prowl had attacked Lockdown, and this time felt really good. A silent spinning back kick had the bounty hunter on the ground, and Prowl quickly pulled Jetfire to his feet.

"Mister Prowl…?" Jetfire murmured.

"Quickly," Prowl said, supporting the younger Autobot as he ran back towards the escape pods, as fast as he could with a barely conscious mech on his hands. "Your brother is waiting for us."

Trying to ignore the fact that Lockdown had to be right behind them after having regained his senses, Prowl turned the last corner and saw Jetstorm looking out of the escape pod anxiously.

When he saw Prowl and Jetfire, he waved frantically. "Brother! Mister Prowl, look out!"

Prowl suddenly felt something wrap around his legs and he collapsed to the floor, taking Jetfire with him. Looking back, the ninja saw Lockdown glaring at him, a bola mod armed and ready, before a blast of wind knocked the bounty hunter backwards.

"Hurry, brother!" Jetstorm cried. "Hurry!"

"Jetfire, go!" Prowl said sharply. The orange seeker struggled to his feet and ran towards the escape pods. They seemed so far down the hall. Then, another set of bolas brought Jetfire to the ground.

"No!" Prowl shouted in union with Jetstorm.

Jetfire seemed to sigh in resignation. "Go, brother!" he called. "Escape!"

"No!" Jetstorm protested. "Not vithout you, brother!"

"It be fine, brother! Please be going!"

Prowl was aware of two things. First, Lockdown was running towards them swiftly, but he wasn't aiming for either Prowl or Jetfire, he had his sights on Jetstorm. Second, Jetstorm seemed ready to leap out of the escape pod.

"No!" Jetfire protested. "Go, brother! It be fine, I be promising!"

Prowl quickly drew his last shuriken and threw it at the launch settings. He could only hope that the pod would head somewhere good. The shuriken embedded in the launch button, and Jetstorm cried out as the pod closed over him. And then, he was gone.

Lockdown shouted in anger. "You will be not getting him, bounty hunter scum!" Jetfire crowed.

Instantly, Lockdown's boot crashed into his head, and Jetfire was out cold. Lockdown then turned his red eyed gaze on Prowl, who simply looked right back at him, casually getting to his feet and slipping out of the bolas.

"I messed stuff up," Prowl said with a slow smirk. Yes, he had only half done the job. But it seemed to make a big difference to Jetfire. "Who woulda thought… right?"

Lockdown stalked towards him. "Never gonna give up, aren't ya kid?"

Prowl's smirk grew. "No."

**A/N HardyGal: I'm sorry if this is so flimsy. I was tried most of the time I wrote this. My sister, Neon, helped some. By the way, I changed the setting of Lockdown's ship (in the show, the trophy room and computer were in the same room). Let's just say that he got a new one or something, and anyway this is extreme AU. Anyhoo, if anyone wants to give me some suggestions that would be lovely.**


	3. AN UPDATE

**A/N HardyGal: Hello, my fair fans of this fanfiction! I am so happy you exist! I'm sorry that I haven updated this in forever. While this is supposed to be a one-shot series without much plot, and there is unlikely to be an ending to this needlessly angsty fic, I still feel like I owe it to you guys to update.**

**Anyway, I have something to tell you: quite frankly, this fanfic kind of sucks. Thus, I am rewriting it! Yes, I know, I've been doing this with quite a few of my fanfics, but I simply want what I publish on here to be the very best of my work. I want there to be some real effort in it. And while I may have put effort into this fic before, I know that it could be better.**

**So… yeah. I'm rewriting this fanfic. I may only rewrite the first chapter or I may rewrite all the stuff I have written for this fic (including the incomplete, unpublished stuff). So besides making a better story, and improving the storytelling and writing, here are two changes I will be making:**

**1) No gratuitous angst. This may sound weird, since this fic basically exists only so I can write gratuitous angst. However, I think I can still write a miserable situation without overdoing it on the misery.**

**2) Change I MAY OR MAY NOT MAKE: No more humanized. I love humanizations as much as the next person. However, there isn't much of a point for this fic to be humanized. It works just as well and can be portrayed just as miserably with the characters in their original bot forms. Again, I may or may not remove the humanization, but right now I'm leaning more towards 'remove it'.**

**Anyhoo, that's all I have to say for now. Again, thank you guys for existing. Hopefully this isn't terribly disappointing. Again, I just want to put my all into these fics. This is HardyGal SIGNING OFF.**


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